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The Global Hotel Alliance (GHA), the world’s largest alliance of independent hotel brands based in the UAE, says travel sentiment is very positive in the year ahead, with the majority of respondents happy with the idea of traveling abroad, identifying five clear global travel trends 2023.
Members of the multi-brand loyalty program GHA DISCOVERY are more likely to travel for leisure than business in the next year, with some planning as many as six vacations, the report said.
Japan has emerged as the top travel destination for 2023, topping all leisure travel hotspots, despite most membership plans traveling primarily within their own region. The US, Oceania and Thailand are other popular destinations. The opportunity to “see and experience new things” is the main travel motivator, as well as the chance to spend time with family and friends, with cities topping the list of most desirable holiday destinations in 2023, followed by beach destinations.
Location, price, and loyalty programs are the three major factors influencing hotel and accommodation choices next year, while discounts and savings, as well as perks such as room upgrades, all of which are core strengths of the GHA DISCOVERY program, are crucial to enriching their choices hotel experience.
“Trends from our survey paint a positive picture for leisure travel in 2023, with our members expressing a strong desire to travel the globe, try new experiences and connect with family and friends, building on last year’s momentum,” said the GHA vice president. Christie Gore. “The results are particularly encouraging against a backdrop of global economic uncertainty, with members telling us that value for money and loyalty program benefits now have the greatest impact on their hotel booking decisions.”
“The reimagining of GHA DISCOVERY, launched a year ago, has become even more relevant, and our new digital rewards currency, DISCOVERY Dollars (D$), adds even more value to each stay. D$ can be earned on-site Redeem at checkout for room rates, dining, spa treatments and a host of select experiences.With over $57 million in circulation now thanks to the 2022 harvest, our 22 million members can implement their 2023 travel plans from key destinations around the world Choose from any of the more than 800 GHA hotels in the area,” she adds.
Top 5 global travel trends for 2023
Thirst for leisure and plan up to six trips
Travel sentiment is very positive, with more than half of respondents in every market happy with the idea of traveling abroad in 2023. The most optimistic market is the UK, where 85% of member respondents intend to travel abroad, followed by the UAE and Singapore at 83% and 81%.
Across all countries, members are more likely to travel for leisure than for business in the next year, with an average of four to six leisure trips planned compared to two to four business trips. In terms of travel frequency, members in China and Germany expect to travel the most next year, with 6.1 and 5.9 leisure trips and 4.8 and 4.5 business trips expected, respectively.
Japan Surprises, Regional Tourism Dominates
Japan has become the preferred tourist country in 2023, and has been rated as the top four leisure travel hotspots by members from all over the world. Members plan to travel mainly within their own regions again next year, particularly those based in China, likely due to ongoing travel restrictions, as well as Singapore, Thailand, the US and the UAE.
Australians stay in Oceania for business but travel to Asia for leisure; members from the UK and Malaysia want to travel to Europe for business and Asia for vacation; Canadians prefer Europe for business but North America for leisure; Germans prefer North America for business and Europe for vacation.
Experiences matter, and so does spending time with family in the hustle and bustle of the city
When asked what they were most looking forward to when traveling for leisure in 2023, members of each market said ‘seeing and experiencing new things’, with ‘spending time with family and friends’ coming in second. Not many people plan to travel with pets, but Europe is the best region for traveling with pets.
Members from most countries plan to travel with “spouse or partner” or “immediate family” and show a clear preference for cities – the top spots for members’ leisure travel, followed by beach/tropical destinations. Mountain and rural locations are on their travel radar, but not as popular.
Specific destinations favored globally include cities such as Tokyo, Bangkok, London, Paris and Singapore, while Chinese members favor Beijing, Shanghai and Sanya. Countries such as the Maldives, Switzerland, Bali, Canada, Spain and Australia also stood out. In the US, California, New York and Hawaii are the most popular.
Location, location, location — and value
Location and price will be the top two factors influencing hotel and accommodation choice in 2023, showing that travelers from most markets are value conscious. To reinforce GHA DISCOVERY’s popularity and success, hotel loyalty programs were rated as the third most important factor influencing the decision. The quality of accommodation also matters, and members from the UK, US, Canada, Australia and the UAE rated it highly when choosing their leisure stay for the next year.
loyal love
Keeping with the loyalty theme, respondents in all regions prefer to use hotel loyalty program channels to research accommodation options rather than OTAs or brands or the hotel’s own website and see loyalty programs as a close second choice The booking channel follows the hotel’s direct website. This reflects not only the user-friendliness of the GHA DISCOVERY mobile app and website, but also GHA’s remarkable collection of more than 40 independent hotel brands with more than 800 properties in 100 countries around the world, a one-stop shop.
When asked “If you are a member of a hotel loyalty program, what is most important to you in terms of your hotel experience?” members ranked discounts or savings as the most important aspect, followed by Hotel benefits such as room upgrades. – trade arab news agency
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